Sermon Series · September 2026 – January 2027
Out of Egypt
Becoming the People of God — from Exodus to Acts
Two pinnacles of God's action as he forms a people for himself. In Exodus, God frees a people from empire and teaches them to trust. In Acts, that same God pours out the Spirit and sends a new family across every border. This fall, we read them together — because the story of a people leaving Egypt is our story. We are becoming the people of God.
Why are we telling the story of a people held in captivity?
God is forming a kingdom people to live out his mission in the world as they become free from the worldly narrative of empire. Exodus and Acts sit at two ends of that story, and the link between them is this: we are becoming.
Exodus gives us the formation — God frees a people, teaches them to trust (manna, Sabbath, the commandments), and watches them wrestle with fear and idols. Acts gives us the mission — the Spirit poured out on all flesh, walls coming down, a new multiethnic family. Acts is our best example of what this looks like playing out among us.
“I got you out of Egypt; these instructions are designed to get Egypt out of you.”
Getting out of Egypt is one thing. Getting Egypt out of you is the work of a lifetime.
Questions We're Carrying
The Common Ask
Every week of this series carries the same invitation:
Name your Egypt. Trust the God who brought you out. Take one step toward the family God is forming.
The Tensions
Five themes run through the whole series — Exodus and Acts keep asking the same question in different centuries.
Empire vs. Kingdom
Pharaoh and Rome operate through fear, scarcity, and violence; God operates through freedom, abundance, and generosity.
Fear vs. Trust
Pharaoh's anxiety drives enslavement; the disciples' fear craves power. God's answer in both: trust me.
Scarcity vs. Abundance
Pharaoh hoards grain; the early church shares everything. Same argument, different century.
Exile & Identity
Slaves learning to be free; strangers learning to be family. Both are about becoming.
Demonic vs. Prophetic Imagination
Empire says partner with evil today to prevent tomorrow's evil. God invites us to re-imagine reality in light of his in-breaking kingdom.
The Schedule
Every Exodus Sunday is paired with the Acts passage that echoes it. See Exodus mapped to Acts →
September
Leaving EgyptStandalone Sunday (Labor Day weekend) — topic in discernment
Conditions of oppression; recap of Joseph's story; series introduction & vision
Speaker: Donnell
The midwives, the women, and the birth of Moses
Speaker: Hannah
Acts touchpoint
- Acts 2:42-47
- Acts 6:1-7 (the overlooked widows)
- Acts 10 (Cornelius)
October
Called at the MarginsMoses' exile
The burning bush
Moses' calling
"Ordinary, unschooled men" … "the place was shaken"
November
Confronting PharaohActs touchpoint
- Acts 7 (Stephen and Scripture's grand story)
- Acts 6
- Acts 10
Advent
Luke 1: A People WaitingThe exodus story pauses for Advent. Congregational practice: read Luke 1 once a week — perhaps memorize one verse.
Mary's experience
Mary's song
Elizabeth and Zechariah's journey
Zechariah's song
Christmas Eve
Christmastide Gratitude Service
Epiphany
Christ, the true and greater Moses?
Rhythms Along the Way
An Anchor
One sentence, one slide, one 30-second audio that grounds the series every single week.
A Midweek Email
The character of God we're discovering, a Bible Project link, an anecdote that didn't make the sermon, and a spiritual practice to carry into the week.
A Monthly Dialogue
Once a month we'll gather to debrief what we're noticing as the series unfolds.
Looking Ahead
- Lent 2027 (Feb 10 – Mar 25): “Jesus, the True and Better Moses” — a season of strong Christology.
- Easter: March 28.